Implementation of Automated Vanilla Pollination Robotic Crane Prototype
Abstract
Vanilla is among the most expensive and most produced spices in the world today. Hand pollination is required in most areas around the globe. Because of the amount of manual labour required for hand pollination automation should reduce the production cost and bring more organic vanilla to the spice market displacing adulterated products. A vanilla crane system for pollination was proposed and simulated by Shaneyfelt et al. in 2013. This paper presents the development of a physical prototype of the system as an undergraduate project.